U.S. patent number 5,490,597 [Application Number 08/203,308] was granted by the patent office on 1996-02-13 for gift packaging and wrapping ensemble.
Invention is credited to Allen Schluger.
United States Patent |
5,490,597 |
Schluger |
February 13, 1996 |
Gift packaging and wrapping ensemble
Abstract
An assembled kit of materials useful in mailing a gift in which
advantageous double use is made of a folded mailing box about which
plastic is shrunk wrap to enclose the materials and, when unfolded,
the wrapped gift is placed in the box for mailing.
Inventors: |
Schluger; Allen (New York,
NY) |
Family
ID: |
22753418 |
Appl.
No.: |
08/203,308 |
Filed: |
March 1, 1994 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
206/575;
229/87.19; 229/922; 229/917 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
5/0227 (20130101); B65D 85/00 (20130101); Y10S
229/917 (20130101); Y10S 229/922 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
5/02 (20060101); B65D 85/00 (20060101); B65D
071/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;206/575
;229/917,921,922,923,87.19 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Ackun; Jacob K.
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. As an article of manufacture, a kit for wrapping a product as a
gift of a type including gift-wrapping components having a flat
planar configuration characterized by four straight sides bounding
a rectangular area of a selected size in a point-of-sales display
in a compartment formed by an external wrap of clear plastic
construction material, said gift wrapping components including a
gift box collapsed into a flat planar configuration and foldable
therefrom into a three dimensional configuration, the improvements
to said kit comprising as an inclusion within said compartment a
mailing box of cardboard construction material of a type foldable
from a flat planar condition into a three dimensional
configuration, said mailing box in said flat planar condition being
similarly characterized by four straight sides bounding said same
sized rectangular shape as said kit, whereby said mailing box
effectively serves both as a flat support base in said kit during a
covering relation thereover of said external wrap of clear plastic
and upon removal of said plastic wrap as a usable three dimensional
gift-wrapping component which encloses said gift box for mailing.
Description
The present invention related generally to improvements in an
article of manufacture facilitating gift wrapping, in which more
particularly the improvements further contribute to the utility of
the article in preparing the gift for mailing.
EXAMPLE OF THE PRIOR ART
In the gift wrapping kit of U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,759 issued to
Gannon et el. on Oct. 12, 1993 for "Gift Packaging and Wrapping
Ensemble" the gift to be presented is enhanced for this purpose by
being inserted in a gift box, wrapped in decorative paper, secured
by a stretch ribbon and even accompanied by an appropriate
salutation card. Although noteworthy to this point, however, the
user of the kit still requires a mailing or mailer box if the mails
are used to send the gift to a recipient. To obtain an
appropriately sized mailer box is often time consuming and an
inconvenience.
Broadly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gift
wrapping kit overcoming the foregoing and other shortcomings of the
prior art. More particularly, it is an object to embody the kit in
a clear plastic protective wrap suited for its sale as an article
of manufacture, and to achieve this with a double functioning of a
kit component allowing the use of this protective wrap and also
facilitating using mail delivery to the intended recipient, all as
will be better understood as the description proceeds.
The description of the invention which follows, together with the
accompanying drawings, should not be construed as limiting the
invention to the example shown and described, because those skilled
in the art to which this invention appertains will be able to
devise other forms thereof within the ambit of the appended
claims.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an assembled condition of the
within inventive gift wrapping and mailing kit as presented for
purchase;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a prior art similar
article of manufacture provided for comparison particularly with
the exploded perspective view of FIG. 3 to demonstrate the
differences therebetween;
FIG. 3 is, as noted, an exploded perspective view, but of the
within inventive gift wrapping and mailing kit;
FIG. 4 is an isolated side elevational view of the mailing or
mailer box component;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of said mailer box component;
FIG. 6 is a sectional view as taken along lines 6--6 of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is an isolated plan view of the folded mailing box
component; and
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the unfolded mailing box component
preparatory to the placement therein of the gift box component.
It is already well known, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 5,251,759
issued to Gannon et al. on Oct. 12, 1993 for "Gift Packaging and
Wrapping Emsemble" that an article of manufacture having commercial
utility consists of a kit providing the necessary components for
wrapping a gift preparatory to the presentation of the gift to a
loved one or the like. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the
referenced prior art kit, generally designated 10', includes a
stretch ribbon or cord 12', a card 14', gift box wrapping paper
16', tissue paper 18', a gift box generally designated 20', and
lastly a substrate or base 22' of cardboard construction material,
the latter component 22' being provided to enable a plastic cover,
not shown in FIG. 2 but which will be understood to be shown and
designated 24 in FIG. 1, to be shrunk in a well understood manner
by heat so as to form a protective closure about the kit 10' in its
assembled condition. That is, the base 22' provides the rectangular
shape and size to the kit 10' and, as should be well understood, is
the component with the requisite firmness about which it is
necessary that the outer plastic wrap 24 shrink from its initial
larger size to its final diminished size in which it envelopes the
components 12', 14', 16', 18' and 20', all of which are in a
superposed relation on top of and within the size dimensions of the
base 22'.
Although the prior art kit 10' of FIG. 2 is noteworthy, a purchaser
of this kit cannot mail the gift placed within the unfolded gift
box 20' because the thin cardboard construction material of the box
20' cannot withstand the normal abuse of mailing. It is thus
incumbent upon the purchaser to obtain a mailing box sized to
receive the gift box 20', and this often is inconvenient and time
consuming.
Underlying the present invention is the recognition that the
mailing box, or mailer, necessary to obviate the inconvenience
noted in connection with the prior art kit 10' of FIG. 2, is of
readily available cardboard construction material which will
withstand the abuse of mailing and, as such, can therefore also
advantageously serve as the base for the shrink-wrapping of the
kit. Thus, provided as a usable component in the kit, the mailing
box in its flat configuration, i.e. prior to being unfolded in a
three-dimensional box, effectively replaces the prior art substrate
or base 22', and, even more important, obviates the need for the
purchaser of the kit to obtain an appropriately sized and
structurally adequate protective box for the gift box containing
the gift per se, such as a sweater, several ties, or the like.
Referring more particularly to FIG. 3 in which the components of
the within inventive kit are illustrated, it will be noted that
they duplicate the components of the prior art kit 10' of FIG. 2,
and are thus designated by the same but unprimed numbers. Thus, kit
10 includes a stretch ribbon 12, a salutation card 14, tissue paper
18, a gift box 20 of thin cardboard construction material and, as a
replacement for the prior art substrate 22', a usable mailing box
22 sized in its unfolded condition, as best illustrated in FIG. 8,
to receive therein the gift-containing box 20, after which a strip
26 is removed to expose an adhesive deposit 28 enabling in a well
understood manner the folding sequence of the box flaps,
individually and collectively designated 30, to form a closure for
the mailing box 22 with the gift box 20 within the box compartment
32.
Further underlying the present invention is the recognition that
comparatively heavy cardboard construction material selected for
the embodiment of the mailer box 22, as best understood from the
sectional view of FIG. 6, is of a well known construction comprised
of an internal flute 34 sandwiched between plies 36, 38 and, as
such, is of sufficient strength to withstand the normal abuse of
mailing. Also significant, when the mailing box 22 is in its folded
flat configuration as respectively illustrated in side elevation in
FIG. 4 and in plan in FIG. 7, it has a thickness 40 provided by a
top ply and a bottom ply, namely an address panel 42 and side panel
44 constituting the top ply, and a rear panel 46 and opposite side
panel 48 (see FIG. 5) constituting the bottom ply. In this
condition, the flaps 30 are tucked between the top and bottom plies
in out-of-the-way positions. It will be understood that the size of
the unfolded mailing box 22 is selected to receive therein the
gift-containing box 20, and this size relationship results, as best
shown in FIG. 7, in a rectangular shape in the folded flat
configuration of the mailing box 22 having dimensions 50 and 52 to
receive in superposed relation the assemblage of the kit components
of FIG. 3 preparatory to applying thereabout a clear plastic shrink
wrap 24 to make available for sale the article of manufacture of
FIG. 1. To facilitate mailing, panel 42 is provided with an
allotted space 54 for the address of the addressee and space 56 for
a return address.
While the article of manufacture herein shown and disclosed in
detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the
advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is
merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the
invention, and that no limitations are intended to the detail of
construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the
appended claims.
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